Like disciples to the master...

In "No Direction Home" (the Bob Dylan documentary by Martin Scorcese), Bobby Neuworth says:

"'Like a Rolling Stone' originally had about fifty something verses as I recall... People who think it's long now should have had a look at it when it was raw. I think he always made exactly the work he wanted to make at exactly the time he wanted to make it. The audience came to Bob. And that's one of the things that makes him so unique in the history of American music. The audience came to Bob Dylan."

Like disciples to the master. Something REAL in him... in his work. And so they came... drawn to something real.

Can the Church be that real? That honest?

Status quos and alternatives...

Does replacing "the" status quo with a variety of "status quos" really improve anything?

It's the early 80's and I walk into a record store. The first thing I notice? 3/4 of the store is labeled "alternative."

...tidbits and spiritual candy...

Mostly people want from priests some practical tidbits and spiritual candy. They want the take-home, not even caring about how you get there. Whether you are neo-Thomist, neo-orthodox or radical orthodox doesn't matter. Tell me what to think/believe/do (or at least what you think/believe/do so that I know whether or not to pay any attention to you).

That's not even what I mean, really...

Mostly, people aren't interested in the substance. It is seen as extra and the 'what do we do' is what they want to hear. But the reality is the opposite.

To most people, how one gets to the stance for or against same-sex unions (for example) isn't important. Just YES or NO. But that's backwards. And dangerous. So, my frustration (why are people NOT interested in the theology of marriage/sexuality, etc., that leads to my answer about same-sex unions (again, as an example), but instead just want to get to my answer?) is about something more, I think:

1. The reduction of the theological to the political or moral.
2. The loss of even the desire for a common (theological?) language.

Reductions of Life in Christ #1

To what do we reduce life in Christ? How many ways do we make it less than it is?

Christianity as

• a get out of hell free pass.
• morality (ethics).
• a relationship between Jesus and me.
• not saying bad words or having sex.
• a particular worldview.
• a set of beliefs.

Good liturgy is worth 1000 words (or maybe 2000-2400 words)

The number of words necessary for a sermon is inversely proportionate to the richness of the liturgy...